The History of Mankind (slightly abridged version)

 

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Psalm 99:1-9

The Lord is king!  Let the nations tremble!  He sits on his throne between the cherubim.  Let the whole earth quake!  The Lord sits in majesty in Jerusalem, exalted above all the nations.  Let them praise your great and awesome name.  Your name is holy!  Mighty King, lover of justice, you have established fairness.  You have acted with justice and righteousness throughout Israel.  Exalt the Lord our God!  Bow low before his feet, for he is holy!  Moses and Aaron were among his priests; Samuel also called on his name.  They cried to the Lord for help, and he answered them.  He spoke to Israel from the pillar of cloud, and they followed the laws and decrees he gave them.  O Lord our God, you answered them.  You were a forgiving God to them, but you punished them when they went wrong.  Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at his holy mountain in Jerusalem, for the Lord our God is holy!

What is wrong with the title of this devotion?  Short answer – everything!  From the title you would expect the focus to be on humanity; that is certainly not the Psalmists’ perspective.  Everything about Psalm 99 points to the character of God; hardly are man’s exploits in view.  Just look at the wording:

·       The LORD is king…HE sits on his throne…in majesty…exalted

·       YOUR name is holy…YOU have established justice

·       HE answered…HE spoke…HE gave

·       YOU were a forgiving God…YOU punished them when they went wrong.

·       EXALT and WORSHIP GOD…for the LORD our God is holy!

Notwithstanding my own criticism of the title, I stand by it as appropriate, because the real (unabridged) version of the history of man is all about the loving God who created us.  You cannot, with any kind of claim to integrity, separate God’s loving character from any mention of humanity; we are entirely connected, entwined in an infinite number of ways, and in a way that includes everything eternal.  And so, our history is rightly connected to His nature; we belong to Him.

The Psalmist’s reference to the wilderness wanderings of God’s children, how God gave them their marching orders, and how they went wrong, after having agreed to do right, and how God handed out justice, punishing their wrong…it is all a microcosm of the unabridged version of humankind’s history. 

Of course, it all started in the mind of God in eternal ages past.  However, our memory begins in the Garden of Eden.  God created Adam and Eve perfectly, placed them in a perfect environment, gave them perfect instructions how to live, and offered a perfect relationship, based upon perfect lovingkindness and providence unbound by strings of any kind.  We get it that there was no racism, murder, or COVID19 in God’s plan.

Then, freedom became too much of a temptation, and Adam and Eve left the reservation.  It began with questioned faith about God’s love and care for them; the enemy whispered questions about God’s character and ways; the couple reached for what wasn’t good for them in an effort to quiet the doubt within, and, believing Lucifer’s lies, in an attempt at fixing what they sensed to be broken, they found fear at the prospect of God knowing what they’d done[1].  Man’s fixing produced fear, and the fall has been repeating itself ever since.  And so has the forgiveness of God for the fallen, sinful children of the first couple! 

This is the slightly abridged version of the history of man.  For the rest of the story, in all of it’s sordid and splendid detail, buy the book….THE Book

Let’s Pray

Father, we understand wilderness…we spend so much of our time there…time better spent with you.  Help us change history…that which lies ahead of us.  Help us to place our heart’s and mind’s focus on you, the place and face where we find faith and peace.

For You Today

The best thing about history is when we focus more on HIS-story, and learn from our messy failings where true peace and meaning lie waiting for those hungering and thirsting for it[2].

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today.  Have a blessed day!

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Title Image:  Pixabay.com  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©

For another post on Psalm 99 see The Case for Worship and When Mercy Outweighs Justice

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[1] Genesis 3:8-10

[2] God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.  Matthew 5:6

Fall-Redemption-Obedience

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Now the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.  Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside the fish.  He said, “I cried out to the Lord in my great trouble, and he answered me.  I called to you from the land of the dead, and Lord, you heard me!  You threw me into the ocean depths, and I sank down to the heart of the sea.  The mighty waters engulfed me; I was buried beneath your wild and stormy waves.  Then I said, ‘O Lord, you have driven me from your presence.  Yet I will look once more toward your holy Temple.’  “I sank beneath the waves, and the waters closed over me.  Seaweed wrapped itself around my head.  I sank down to the very roots of the mountains.  I was imprisoned in the earth, whose gates lock shut forever.  But you, O Lord my God, snatched me from the jaws of death!  As my life was slipping away, I remembered the Lord.  And my earnest prayer went out to you in your holy Temple.  Those who worship false gods turn their backs on all God’s mercies.  But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise, and I will fulfill all my vows.  For my salvation comes from the Lord alone.”  Then the Lord ordered the fish to spit Jonah out onto the beach.   Jonah 1:17 – 2:10 (NLT)

In the account of Jonah is the whole tale of humanity’s relationship with God. 

         ·        There is the call of God – Jonah is to do God’s will, go to Nineveh

         ·        There is man’s disobedience – Jonah runs in the opposite direction

         ·        There is God’s judgment – the big fish

         ·        There is man’s repentance, God’s forgiveness, and man’s obedience.

Jonah’s was a “deathbed” confession and salvation; he prayed…as my life was slipping away, I remembered the Lord.  He got right with God just in the nick of time.

I wouldn’t recommend that; in fact the whole purpose of the story seems to be that you shouldn’t run from God’s loving hand in the first place, much less “play chicken” with God’s deadline.

But the whole drama of each of our lives is played out in this teachable moment with Jonah – disobedience, repentance, mercy and forgiveness.  We have each played Jonah!

The “hinge” for the whole cycle is hung on two points – earnest repentance and genuine lived-out repentance.  When Jonah prayed from the belly of the fish he said it was my earnest prayer; when God mercifully rescued the wayward prophet, he was going to live out that earnest prayer” …and I will fulfill all my vows.

All of Jonah’s genuine repentance was his recognition that his Creator had a valid and just claim on his life:  For my salvation comes from the Lord alone.

The question of Jonah’s story is debated – sometimes hotly – by theologians, as to if it is an actual one man’s story or an allegory of humanity. 

To that question I say YES; I believe it is both.  And it is the greatest evangelistic opportunity you will find. 

Here’s why: 

Every part of Jonah’s life story leads to the Gospel answers of why Jesus came to earth.  Even the least religious of people know the basics of Jonah being swallowed by a gigantic fish. 

And like Philip, the evangelist ^{Acts 8} you can open a non-threatening conversation with anyone by a simple question:  What’s your take on Jonah and the whale?  From there, it is a short leap to understanding the loving mercy God extended to us by the cross.

For You, Today…

At Christmas there is a favorite song/theme most people receive well – as the shepherds who first heard the Gospel were instructed…Go tell….

Why not ask somebody today what they think about Jonah and the big fish?

Could be an interesting day!